I told George, my hiking partner, that I thought the festival was about 30 minutes hike towards the Ausangate massif.

Wrong!

It was 8.5km uphill. In the opposite direction.

It was dark by the time we reached the festival grounds. George was near dead, unused to carrying a pack & the high altitude.

Above is one of nine crosses and apacheta shrines where some pilgrims pray and sing as they climb high.